Rethinking AI in the age of climate collapse: Ethics, power, and responsibility

AI's climate benefits are real but come with hidden environmental costs: While AI excels at climate forecasting, renewable energy management, and detecting environmental degradation, the energy demands of data centres and resource-intensive hardware production create a paradox where the tool meant to solve climate problems may itself contribute to environmental harm.

Power and corporate concentration matter as much as the technology itself: The paper emphasizes that AI's contribution to climate action depends fundamentally on "the values, institutions, and power structures that shape its development"—meaning that without addressing who controls AI systems and how decisions are made, technology alone cannot solve the climate crisis.

Algorithmic bias and technocratic decision-making pose justice risks: Beyond environmental concerns, the paper identifies how algorithmic bias and top-down technological decision-making can undermine equitable climate solutions, potentially harming vulnerable populations who have little say in how AI systems affecting their communities are designed.

Responsible AI requires interdisciplinary governance, not just technical fixes: The paper argues for integrating environmental ethics, philosophy, and legal frameworks alongside technology—suggesting that sustainable AI demands institutional and democratic accountability structures, not merely engineering improvements.

We must reject the assumption that AI is inherently sustainable: Rather than treating AI as an automatic solution to climate challenges, the paper calls for critical evaluation of each application, ensuring that AI deployment genuinely serves climate action and social justice rather than concentrating corporate power.